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Another "How to" Guide
Introduction I am fully aware of the fact, that there are other guides on how to create a monster high OC. I do not want to say that they are bad or that mine is better, I just want to give you a different approach on that topic. Here you will find some useful tips on how to create an original character. You will also find said tips applied as you will follow me through the process of creating a new OC. Note that I am still working on this guide. If you have any ideas or critique, please use the comment section below. Now please enjoy my guide. Monster Parents The best thing is to start with looking for a monster parent, e.g. what kind of monster your OC will be. That way it will be easier to create an appearance and might be more helpful for the character building. If you want to create a new OC based on a common monster of the universe, such as Vampires, Zombies, Werewolves/Werecats or Ghosts, it may not be very original, but it is totally fine IF you DO NOT make one of the following mistakes: copy from canon designs If your OC looks alot like a canon because it has only few alterations from it (e.g. hair color/length/style change, skin color change...) it's just a carbon copy of the canon. Just because your OC is a Mummy, it does not have to look like Cleo DeNile. It may also lead to copy&paste the canons profile with only few alterations. So don't do that. making siblings for canons This might also lead to a carbon copy of the canon you were trying to create a sibling for...plus it's really unoriginal. So better not create OCs related to canons. So, if you really want to create an OC based on a common monster, don't rely on canon characters as reference too much. This counts for both, the art design as well as for the biopage. It is fine to compare, but it isn't fine to copy! However, there is another no-no for good OC creation: bad monster parent choice Monster High isn't the only franchise with monsters. However not every monster is considered a good monster parent. For example made up monsters such as Pokémon and Digimon are a really bad pick for monster parents. You should stick to folklore, mythology (and fairytales). The appearance however can be based on made up monsters: Did you know that many monsters out of other franchises actually have a mythological counterpart? For example Vulpix and Ninetales from Pokémon are based on the Kitsune. The Ragnarok Online Monster Miyabi Ningyo is based on the Futakuchi-Onna, Zoras and Ritos from the Zelda franchise resemble both greek and roman Sirens - just to name a few. Dig deep and try to find out the origin of the monster you consider to transform into a Monster High OC. One more tip here: generalize. Please don't make your ice themed monster daughter of Elsa from Frozen, just because you based the appearance on her. „Son of Medusa“, „Daughter of Dracula“. Yes, Mattel does it as well but you will be better off to use more universal terms. Say „son of the Gorgons“ or „daugther of the Vampires“ instead, especially if the monster parent you wanted to choose is canon. If it is not be aware that this might be changing faster than you think, as the franchise is growing constantly. Also: do not forget the “monster” in monster parents. Humans, even if they are mean and evil or if they have special, non human powers, are no monsters. So for instance Cruella de Vil is NOT a monster parent. She also would be a very specific parent to pick as I suggested to stay universal. So picking her (or anybody alike) would be wrong in more than one way. Same applies for Super Heros. They are a) way to specific to be a good monster parent and b) some of them can't even be considered "monster". Gray Area: Choosing an (Anti-)God as monster parent. Yes Mattel did it first with C. A. Cupid, then with Posea Reef. I personally think that you should be very carefull with those. It's fine, but don't make them too powerful. They should have huge limits, even if it's 'just' the "God(dess) in training" thing that Mattel did with their godly descendents. Art Design This is a very abbreviated tutorial on how to create your characters art. I might be doing a full-blown tutorial on that topic as well, but for now, this must do. So, if you finally found a Monster to base your OC on, it is time for the design. Maybe you might as well think of a very dominant character trait first, so that you can “put” that into the design. For instance, if your OC is rather shy, then this trait can be pointed out by drawing their arms near to their body, maybe even holding on to themself in some way and let them look to the ground, rather than facing the viewer. If your OC is conceited you can draw attention to that by drawing their head up while the eyes are looking down. A bright, silly grin can make them appear sassy and if the arms are away from the body that could suggest the OC being friendly and open minded. These are just a few examples on how you can point out a dominant character trait only by the way you are presenting the OC. But if you don't have any idea about you OCs character yet, just start drawing. This tactic also works the other way around: you can think of a dominant character trait by looking at your final piece of art. Don't hesitate to search for and use bases! Human anatomy is not that easy (even though Monster High is far from having a correct human anatomy, but I think you get the point) and you may look for references (so not only bases though, but they are the best to start with) on the internet, to get that specific pose right. However you should NOT simply trace it. Try to copy it. It may be very hard the first few times, but trust me, if you get the hang of it, you eventually will be able to draw your own bases with less or even without any needs for references. Don't believe me? Well, than take a look through my OCs. I think you will be very able to see an improvement ;) Adding monster traits When you finished your base its time to 'make it monster'. Go to Google image search and type in your monster parent. If it's not something very unique and rare, you should find a load of pictures, where you can copy striking traits of the chosen monster such as horns, tails and wings. Add details like scales, fur, feathers, wood grain, joints...of course depending on your monster parent. You may also get rid of huge parts of the human in case your monster parent is half animal...like Satyrs, Centaurs, Mermaids or Nagas – to name a few. Again, don't hesitate to look for references for said creatures to get their anatomy right. -- For this tutorial I've chosen to make a Minotaur out of the base I've just created. So; I've not only looked up several imiges of Minotaurs - including images of Manny Taur, the canon Minotaur, but I also looked up bulls and cows and even some demons to get some inspiration on how horns can be depicted differently. Then I added said traits to the base. I also decide at this stage on the OCs hairstyle because it has to match with, say the horns. Fashion Now it's time to dress up your OC. To be honest with you here, this, for me always is the hardest task concerning the art, as I am not really involved with fashion. However, keep in mind that a shy OC will most likely not run around in flashy 'look at me' outfits. But again: Google is your friend. Just google some nice outfits and put them on your OC. Depending on the pose this might get a little tricky though but if you use a new layer – that is a transparent piece of paper if you draw by hand – and try to figure out how the clothing works on the chosen pose. When you are done with that it is time for the coloration. Again look for some tutorials on the internet if you are having trouble with that. -- For my Minotaur OC I've decided to go with a cowgirl look, so I fed Google with exactly that term and found some nice, not to 'sexual' clothing for her. Because of her huge horns, I decided to go without the cowboy hat. I also was creative and changed the outfit I used as reference alot and added an accessory as well. Coloration When you're done with the outlines your OC is finally done! Well almost. This is where color comes in. Finding suitable colors can be challenging. Here's the trick though. Every grapic program comes with an 'color picker' tool or whatever name the developer of the individual program has given to it. It always looks a little something like an eyedropper (I think Paint Tool Sai even calls it that). With that you can copy any color from any image you want. I personally use it alot but you can alternatively try to find fitting colors within the color circle of the program respectivly, If you don't want to look for images again. But be careful with the first option though. Just because your monster is ice-themed, you should avoid to only copy from Abbey Bominables color scheme or your OC will become a look alike. When you've applied your desired colors to the Linework, you can make the art more deep by adding highlights (e.g. light and shadow). This, however, is, again, a very tricky issue and will require some practice as well. Misplaced shadows look very odd; what a good thing that we can look at our reference for that again! -- As you can see, I've decided to go with a patchy skin to, on the one hand, underline the cowgirl image. On the other hand I've chosen it to avoid any resemblance with canon Manny Taur, who has a brown, furry skin. Bio Page Now that you are done with the artwork, it is time to give the character's personality depth. This may be more difficult than you actually think but for me looking at my art helps me a lot to figure things out. That is why I start with the drawing part most of the time and that is why this tutorial is structured like that as well. You can and should also read wikipedia articles of the monster parent. Maybe you will find information that helps you to create a personality for your OC. Name I usually think about it while I'm drawing the OC so that most of the time, I figured out a nice name by the end of the coloration process.What I ordinarily do is repeating the monster type over and over again in my head and try to think of a nice, creative pun that can be derived from it. Just like Draculaura is an alteration from Dracula and Frankie Stein comes from Frankenstein. Sometimes it doesn't work that well and the names you come up with sound odd. Then you can choose a name that you like and add a last name that hints towards the origin of your OC, such as Mattel did with Rochelle Goyle and Jane Boolittle, to name a few. Still nothing? Try a different language! Here I would recommend not just any language but that language of the country your mythological creature originally comes from. If your monster is already canon within the franchise you should also avoid using their last name, even though it is tempting. I know, in real life there's no such thing as a "unique" last name, but to avoid people thinking your Werewolf OC is related with the canon Wolf siblings, you better not take 'Wolf' as family name. -- I've chosen my previously drawn Minotaur OC to be called Minna Taur''us'' to avoid any relation to the Canon Manny Taur. As you can see (and maybe hear by pronouncing it), I went with the pun, as Minna Taurus sounds alot like Minotaurus which is the Latin spelling for this mythological creature. Age I actually didn't intend to say something about age. And then I remembered that my OC Demian Devil was featured at fucknomgfanart , which is a site that criticize bad OCs and explain pretty detailed, why they are bad. One, admittedly small problem they had with him back then was his age. I claimed and still claim him to be 666 years old which is, according to them, too old for still being in high school. On this point I both agree and disagree. In my opinion it is okay to exaggerate, if the monster type allows it. I mean, Mattel does it as well: Draculaura is 1600 years old which translates into 16 in 'normie years'. As long as you do not do it all the time with every character, it's a nice gag. However it is better to go with conventionalised, 'normie' ages because yeah...even if 1600 Vampire years are translated into 16 human years, basically stating that Vampires age slower than others, it still means Draculaura is in school for centuries now, which, true, doesn't make any sense whatsoever, not even for a monster school. Since school systems differs from country to country (and sometimes even within the country itself, as it is in Germany), here is a table with the age and the respective grade you would be in if you are going to a High School in the US (where the Monster High is situated) Grade Age 09 (freshman) 14/15 10 (sophomores) 15/16 11 (juniors) 16/17 12 (seniors) 17/18 So stick to this age range IF you want your OC still to be a Monster High student. Note: There are two possible ages for each grade because it may depend on the day of birth of the character and whether it is before or after the school term starts. Monster Quirk/Freaky Flaw For me I always find it like the hardest to give the OC a fitting flaw/quirk. Mattel for instance loves to reverse the usual monster trait. Draculaura hating blood even though she's a vampire, Cleo DeNile being afraid of the dark even though mummies usually 'populate' dark places – pyramids - and sleep in sarcophagi, Lorna McNessie loving to photobomb even though she is the daughter of the Loch Ness monster and should, by mythology, rather avoid cameras, Ghoulia Yelpes who is rather smart for a zombie and so on. And if they do not reverse the trait, they like to exaggerate it, as we can see it with the character of Clawd Wolf and maybe even Heath Burns and/or Abbey Bominable. Some of these (reversed or exaggerated) traits make good monster quirks. However, here is an (uncomplete) list of freaky flaws/monster quirks from canons that might help you find a good one for your OC. Abbey: lacking in tact Aery: knack for knowing what others are thinking before they say it Amanita: likes to hear herself talking Astranova: gets lost in translation Avea: stubbornness Bay: can't dance Batsy: has a hang-up with monsters that don't care about the world Bonita: chews on cloths when nervous Catrine: Perfectionist Catty: Superstitious Casta: mixing up words and put spells on others by accident because of this Clawd: Sheding Clawdia: chewing on pencils, paper clips, … when nervous Clawdeen: quick hair growth Cleo: afraid of the dark Deuce: turn people into stone with his gaze Draculaura: drawbacks of no reflection in the mirror Elissabat: terrible stage fright Elle: blow a fuse when too amped Fawntine: doesn't like large crowds Finnegan: dives in headfirst too quickly Flara: singering her mane and tail when get too fired up Frankie: loose stitches Frets: slow Garrott: Perfectionist Ghoulia: not spontaneous, slow walking, terrible in showing/making facial expressions Gigi: claustrophobic Gillington: afraid of (or rather biased) ocean monsters Gilda: jumpy (doesn't like loud noises) Goolippe: afraid of not fitting in Heath: impulsive/self-control issue ... As we can see by this excerpt, freaky flaws or monster quirks can be everything; from very universal character traits/fears to very specific drawbacks concerning their monster side, to things they simply can't do (like dancing). However, (mental or physical) disabilities aren't usually displayed as a flaw. -- Okay, so now let's, again, look at our example OC Minna. She has a canon counterpart as we figured out already, so let's check Manny Taurs Monster Quirk ( I couldn't find the official English information, so I'm going to translate the German): It appears that Mattel focused on his animal side - the bull, which is said to be a powerful animal that goes on a rampage when it sees red. What about the mythological creature? Lets check wikipedia. By reading through the article it is noticeable that the word "labyrinth" appears alot. Now that is something we can work with, right? Labyrinths are constructed to get lost inside. Well, how about our new Minotaur OC has a very bad sense of direction, thus getting lost ever so often? Here you go - we just found a perfect flaw for our new character! Pet Peeve Something that your OC really can't stand. Easy enough? Well this can be sometimes challenging as well. To help you with that section, you can for example address the OCs flaw again. Or you could read through the wikipedia article of your monster parent and look for known weaknesses, or how humans tried to deal with/get rid of said monster in the myths. You can also think of stuff that you yourself rather dislike but it should fit to your character as well. Of course another good idea here would be too look at the pet peeves of the canons. Here I made another really short (because the official Monster High page is so messy and doesn't work like it should most of the time...) exceprt: Clawdeen: having so many brothers and sisters in school at the same time that annoy her. Bay: Other ghouls thinking she is flighty because of her casual unlifestyle. Elissabat: When she fubs a line/makes a mistake on stage/ infront of the camera Ghoulia: Last minute schedule changes & monster unable to speak zombie Jackson: Listen to loud music with a beat. Jane: When monsters want her to eavesdrop on the conversation between their companion creatures & other animals. Robecca: Rain. Rochelle: Pigeons. Scarah: Others mimicking her accent. Sirena: being anchored to a spot. Twyla: That others don't understand why she would want to help normies & normies thinking she wants to scare them; vacuum cleaners Wydowna: Can't stand the "black widow thing" (whatever that is... :P) ... As you can see, most of the pet peeves above are related to their monster traits: whether they are having a problem with it themselves or with others having a problem with it. Others are more personal issues, like Ghoulia's and Clawdeen's, and other pet peeves have something to do with the character's professional career, as we can see with Elissabat. -- With my new OC I will go with a pet peeve that is a personal issue. I figured that I didn't have "full lesbian" yet. So I made her one. Thus, her pet peeve has something to do with her disgust for the male gender, particularly with the behavior of a few individuals. Killer Style In this section, just explain/describe the cloth your OC is wearing in the art. Maybe you can figure out the name of the style, but if you are not that into fashion - like me - this also could be a hardish task to complete. Other Sections Favourite/Least Favorite everything. These sections are speaking for themselves. Just look at your OC design to find out a favorite color, look at the streingths and weaknesses of your monster to find out in which school subject he/she might do well in and in which not and so on. These part usually is the easiest. Category:Tutorial